Seal



G. G. CANTER May 29, 1951 SEAL Filed Oct. 6, 1949 //7 Ven for George 6. Can/ef 5 A fior/lays Patented May 29', 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFCE lSEAL Georgev G.Cantcr, New York,v N. .Y.

Application 'October,j6, 1949, SerialNo. 119,900

5 Claims.

larly to strap seals of the type suitable for use on freight cars, trucks and containers of various kinds for the shipment of valuable goods-which is removable only by destruction.

' Thepresent invention relates t0 improvements inthe seal described in my co-pendinglapplcation Serial No. 60,603, led November 17, 1948. The said application describes a seal comprising a closure made of two permanently joined shells with a slot in one of the shells, a separate slotted disk secured between the shells and `a strap, one end of which passes through a slot in the lwasher and is bent over'and permanently secured to the inner face of the washer by means of a rivet. The rivet may be separate or may be formed integrally with the disk or the strap end may be fastened to the disk by'means of a weld.

One of the principal objects ofthe present invention is to avoid the use of a separate disk together with its separate fastening means to cheapen and simplify the-construction and assembly of the seal.

Another object is to provide improved 'fa-stening of the strap end which is permanently secured in the enclosure, at the same time reinforcing the improved form of disk withthe result that it may be made ofthe lighter metal froml which the strap is made andA as an integral .part thereof.

Another object is to eliminate the need for riveting or welding, thus-saving another step in the manufacture.

A still furtherobj ect is -to provide a guide serving to direct the free end of the strap into the slot of the disk without adding to the cost of construction.

The inventionvwill best be understood 'from the following description of the present preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete seal as supplied to the user;

.'Fig. 2 is a plan view'of thesheet-metal Vblank with the various slots, tongues. and guiding member formed therein;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the blank as seen from the'left side of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4. is a perspective view of the head of the blank partially bent to its'nal shape and Fig. 5 shows the head after the `completion of ythe bending;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the end of the strap as shown in Fig. 5 inserted in the lower shell of the enclosure, which is shown in central section;

Fig. '7 is a similar view taken at right angles to iii) 2 the view of Fig. 6v and shows theupper shell in place and fastened to the lower shell;

Fig. 8 is an enlargedrcentral section through the strap end taken on the line 8 8 of Fig5 and showing the free end of the strapentering the slot in the disk; v

Fig. 9 is asimilar View showing the free end of the strap in fully inserted locking position; Yand Fig. 10 shows 'the deformation of the interlocked ends of the strap produced by a force tending to pull the free end out of its locked position. f The seal consists of only three principal parts namely: An elongated strap I4 with parallel sides made of sheet metal having a slight springiness, such as` quarter-hard cold rolled steel about .1015" thick, a lower sealing shell I5 and an upper sealing shell I6. Th-e strap I4 may be embossed with the users designation and a serial number in the usual way, as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the lstrap is stamped outfof sheet metal in the form shownwith an integral, substantially circular disk i8 having 'a central elongated slot IQ, the material punched out of the slot, which is cut only on three'sides, forming a reinforcing and guiding rib 26 lwhich is turned back at slightly less than a right angle to the adjacent side of the disk. Joining the disk I8 at the lower uncut portion of its periphery'is a substantially semicircular head 2-I terminating in a narrower straight-sided portion 22 which is somewhat wider than the body of the strap i4 so as to provide shoulders 24. A tongue 25 is punched out of the portion 22 having its root in line-with the junction between the head 2| and portion 22. The other end of strap I4 is provided with a tongue 26 which extends'toward the head of lthe strap and is lpressed outwardly at a slight angle'thereto onthe same side as the'tonguejZS.

The head of'this strap is then bent asshown in Figs. 4 .and 5 so that thesemi-circular head '2.I extends-at right-angles-tothe'strap, which brings the ton-gue 25 into an upstanding position as shown in Fig. 4, and the disk E8 is bent downwardly into Contact with the head portion 2 I Vwith f the tongue 25 extending upwardly through the slot I9V in the disk i8. The strap member as thus formed is then dropped into the lower shell I5 which is provided with a slot'ZB .through which the strap AI4 passes. Slot is slightly narrower than the bottom of the shell. The folded head .of the strap rests on the circular shoulderz of the shell and the vshoulders 24 at the bottom of the portion 2E rest on the bottom of the shell at either end of the slot 28. The upper flanged shell I6 is then placed in position and the rim of shell 3 I5 is crimped over the rim of shell I6 as shown in Fig. 7, completing the assembly of the seal.

The operation of the seal is illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. Fig. 8 shows the free end of the seal starting its passage upwardly through the slot I9 in the disk and it will be noted that the rib acts to guide it into this slot. Fig. 9 shows the strap end moved past the tongue 25, which snaps into the slot in the free end of the strap produced by punching out the tongue 26. Once the tongue 28 has passed beyond the tongue 25, the free end of the strap is locked and cannot be withdrawn. If it is pulled in the direction tending to withdraw it, the parts move into the position shown in Fig. 10 in which the tongue is drawn downwardly over the slot I9 and the tongue 26 bends against the top of the disk I8, across which it slides, thus locking the ends of the strap together more securely.

It will be noted that although the disk I8 is made of the relatively thin metal of the strap body, the folded construction provides a substantial reinforcement of the disk in that onedisk and said head portion being folded together, a-tongue projecting from the margin of said head portion through the slot in the disk so as to extend angularly across said last mentioned slot, the other end of the strap having a slot adapted to receive said tongue when said other end is pushed through the slot in the disk.

3. A seal comprising an enclosure formed by a pair of shells permanently secured together, a slotted disk extending across said enclosure and secured between said -shells, one of said shells having a slot aligned with the slot in the disk, a

' strap having an elongated body and an integral half of the disk is in effect of double thickness strap. The disk is further supported approxi-- mately across its center by the portion 22 which rests on the bottom of shell I5. The rigidity or disk I8 is further assured by the downwardlyturned flange 2E] which also acts to guide the strap end as it comes up through the slot 28 in the shell toward the slot I9 in the disk.

The invention thus provides a seal of the type described which is positive and sure in action, not likely to be rendered inoperative by accidental damage, and cannot be opened after once being engaged without leaving obvious signs of tampering. Furthermore, the seal can be made and assembled inexpensively by reason of the simplicity of its parts.

In View of obvious modications which may be made in the embodiment herein particularly described without departing from the spirit of the invention it is to be construed broadly within the purview of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A seal comprising an enclosure formed by a pair of shells permanently secured together, a slotted disk extending across said enclosure and secured between said shells, one of said shells having a slot aligned with the slot in the disk, an elongated strap having a body and an integral head portion bent at an angle to the body of the strap and formed integrally with said disk, said disk and said head portion being folded together, a tongue projecting angularly across said slot in the disk on the opposite side of the disk from the strap body, the other end of the strap having a slot adapted to receive said tongue when said other end is pushed through said slot in the disk.

2. A seal comprising an enclosure formed by a pair of shells permanently secured together, a slotted disk extending across said enclosure and secured between said shells, one of said shells having a slot aligned with the slot in the disk, an elongated strap having a body and an integral head portion bent at an angle to the body of the strap and formed integrally with said disk, said head portion bent at an angle to the body of the strap and formed integrally with said disk, said disk and said head portion being folded together, said strap having a portion between said head portion and its body wider than the slotl in said shell with shoulders resting on said shell, a tongue projecting through the slot in the disk so `as to extend angularly across said last mentioned'slot, the" other end of the strap having a slot adapted to receive said tongue when saidother end is pushed lthrough the slot in the disk. f

4. A seal comprising an enclosure formed'by a pair ofv shells permanently secured together,` `a slotted disk extending across said enclosure and secured between' said shells, one of said shells having a slot aligned with the slotin the disk, a strap having an integral head portion bent at an angle' to rthe body of the strap and formedl integrally with said disk, said disk and said head portion being folded together, a tongue projecting angularly across said slot in the disk,V the other end of the strap having a slot adapted to receive said tongue when said other end is pushed through said slot in the disk, the slot in said disk being formed by cutting three sides of the opening and bending the material deiined by the cut at an angle to the disk on the side toward themslot in the shell to form a reinforcing and guidingrib. 5. A seal comprising an enclosure formed by a pair of circular flanged shells permanently secured together, a strap having an integral semicircular head portion bent at a right angle to the body of the strap, an integral circular slotted disk having a common margin with said head portion, said disk and said head portion being folded together, a tongue projecting from the margin of said head portion through the slot in the disk so as to extend angularly across said slot, said head portion and said disk being secured between said shells so as to form a partition in said enclosure, one of said shells having a slot aligned with the slot in the disk through which the strap passes, the other end of the strap having a slot adapted to receive said tongue when said other end is pushed through the slot in said disk.

GEORGE G. CANTER;

REFERENCES CITED.A

The following references are of record inthe le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 828,729 Flatau Aug. 14, 1906 831,825 Brooks Sept. 25, 1906 922,251 Bowers May 18, 1909 935,898 Eichholtz Oct. 5, 1909 1,009,277 Brooks Nov. 21, 1911 

